Large metal bins where students can drop off unwanted clothes and shoes were installed Feb. 1 behind Exley Science Center as part of a fundraising project for the Nutmeg branch of Big Brothers Big Sisters.
This branch of the mentoring organization works to help disadvantaged kids in much of Connecticut, including Middletown and surrounding cities. Donated clothing is collected from the recycling bins and then sold by the organization wholesale to clothing warehouses. The clothing collection program generates about $15,000 per year for Big Brothers Big Sisters.
In addition to helping charity, the bins play a role in expanding the University’s campus-wide recycling program. Associate Director of Environmental Health and Safety and Director of the Wesleyan Recycling Committee Bill Nelligan contacted Big Brothers Big Sisters after recognizing a need on campus for places to recycle used textiles. Nelligan noted that students leave behind a considerable amount of clothing, bedding, and furniture in University housing each year, a fact he largely attributed to a lack of nearby places to donate such items rather than student laziness or apathy. According to Nelligan, the clothing bins are conveniently located, and because whatever items donated there will be re-sold and used to make money for an important cause, ensure efficient recycling.
“If there’s no place for recycled material to go, if there’s no end market for that recycled material, the system cannot sustain itself,” Nelligan said.
The clothing bins are just one part of a growing effort to increase recycling of textiles and other materials on campus. According to Nelligan, members of Environmental Organizers Network (EON) have conducted research about what students do with their used clothing. The group found that students wanted to donate old clothes, but thought that no appropriate donation center was close by. Additionally, when the Foss Hill dorms are refurbished over the summer, it is estimated that 60 percent of the textiles used will be recycled material.
The Unique Recycling program, another endeavor of the Recycling Committee, put receptacles in the Science Center lobby for items that can be recycled but are often thrown away, such as ink cartridges, aerosol cans, CDs and batteries.
According to Laura Green, executive director of Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters, there are several bins similar to the ones on campus throughout Middlesex County. Green called the donated clothing bins a great fundraiser for the organization, and expressed gratitude for the University’s decision to install bins on campus.
“[Big Brothers Big Sisters] has had a long relationship with Wesleyan,” Green said. “Wesleyan has been a big supporter of ours in the past.”
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